Dowel bar bearing and support



Nov. 18, 1941. C, H wEs-rcQ-r'r 2,263,150

DowEL BAR BEARING AND SUPPORT Filed Aug. 8,1958

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Patented'Nov. 18, 941 i UNITED sTATEs PATENT orrrcf'E land particularly to u 2,263.1 nowaL nAa BEARING AND surnom Westcott, Oak Park, lll., signor to Jacobson. Chicago, Ill. f

Clifford H.

James H.

y Application' Amat s; 193s, serai No. zasvs (ci. :i4-s) e claims.

invention relates to the construcmasonry and concrete structures,

the building of highways and concrete pavements, and more particularly to a dowel bar and its bearing, the dowel bridging the space between the adjoining and structurally connecting end faces of adjacent concrete slabs, transferring road loads from one concrete slab to the next adjoining slab.`

This is a continuation-impart of my copending application Serial No. 22,308, yThe primary are to maintain filed May 20, 1935. objects of my present invention the surface of the adjoining slabs uniform and in substantially the same plane so asl to obtain a comparatively smooth and uninterrupted surface for To reduce the high the motoring public; bearing stresses existing at the edge of the slab by providing a greater bearing area in contact with the concrete at the edge of the slab;

reduce the high edge stresses by virtue of radiating anchors or fins which either To further 'absorb load or loads .to and within inate high stress areas transmit and distribute the dowel the slab and thereby elimi`n the slab that` would otherwise exist; i

To provide a shorter effective length of structural dowel member whereby the deflection of the dowel is materially reduced;

To decrease the deflection of the short dowel during periods of load transmission by furnishing a definite the dowel, which not structural support for the body of only eliminates channeling within the slab, but by so doing. also decreases deflection under periods of load transmission;

To increase the load transmission capacity ofV the common dowel, as a dowel used for the purpose of load transmission *-.stand bending terially reduce and shearing stresses. and l maby effectively reducing the length'f the bar;

To increase the load transmission capacity of the dowel' by virtue of this reduction in length with the consequent increased capacity in bending. Due to this shorter length and consequent smaller deflection the load transfer capacity of the dowel is considerably increased, the amount of increase depending uponthe thickness of the slab and the modulus of the subgrade reaction;

To provide a load transmission device which will serve as a chair, or support, to position the dowel in proper alignment, and which structure rests directly upon ports the dow the surface of the subgrade and thereby supel in actual alignment parallel to the subgrade and parallel to the is required to with.

these bending stresses in a dowelK surface of the highway. I provideaccessible means for providing and maintaining proper alignment of the dowel; and y To obtain an air space at the end of the short dowel so that the dowel may move freelyto accommodate the movement of the adjoining slabs during periods of volume change.

My present invention has these and other` objects, all of which .are explained in detail and may be more readily understood when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing (one sheet), which illustrates the preferred embodiment of my invention, it' being manifest that changes and modifications may be lresorted to without departure from the spirit of the claims forming a part hereof. l

In the drawing:

. Fig. l is a section through an expansion jointr positioned between the end faces of adjoining slab sections embodying my invention, the dowel being shown in elevation;

Fig. 2 is an elevation'of one member of the dowel bearing;

Fig. y31s an end elevation of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary elevational view of the assembled units illustrating the temporary locking means engaging both units.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

The structure illustrated involves the application of my invention to a roadway slab, and for purpose of description only, `I choose to define invention as applied to this particular construction; however, I wish it yunderstood that its adoption and use are equally applicable to any poured or pre-cast structure, whether it be a roadway slab or a retaining wall, dam, or building structure, for, as a matter of fact, they are applicable to an almost unlimited number of structures.

For purpose of illustration, I have shown a conventional type of expansion joint comprising a strip of preformed yieldable material, resilient in character and designated by the reference numeral l0, positioned between .and abutting the adjoining end faces of adjacent concrete slabs ll and l-2`, which are shown resting upon the sub-^ grade I3; and whereas I have""shown and described such form of joint. I wish it understood that any type or construction of joint may be employed in association with my invention, whether it be an expansion joint, contraction joint, or a construction joint.

My inventionconsists in spanning the space relatively short dowel bar Il positioned at substantially mid-depth of the slabs and parallel with the top surface thereof and normal to the plane of the joint: and whereas I have shown the dowel as the common rolled bar of circular cross-section, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that dowels of various cross-sections may be employed.

'I'he ends of the dowel Il are telescoped into a pair of cylindrical bearing sleeves I5-I5, symmetrically positioned one on each side ofthe joint I0, and adapted to be cast into their respective slabs as shown. Each sleeve is reamed to provide a snug and tight sliding fit for the dowel and of a length sufllcient to provide an air chamber I6 of a depth equivalent to at least one-half of the joint I (or space) between thel adjoining slabs. The outer ends of the sleeves are sealed with a wall I1, whereas the inner faces are reinforced with an enlarged bearing or iin I8, which is positioned approximately ush with the face of the respective slab sections. A radial leg or bracket I9 is cast integral with the iin I8 and the sleeve I5 and diverges therefrom back into the slab terminating in a foot section 20, which is adapted to rest directly upon the subgrade I3, and serve not only as a load distributing member, but also as a support for the assembly prior to the pouring of the concrete. And lateral fins 2| are provided, which likewise radiate from the bearing ring I and taper back to a point approaching the wall I'I, thereby increasing the bearing surface at the face of the slab, and providing also for load distribution into the body of the slab. In addition to the reinforcing fin or enlarged bearing I8 which is located ush with the face of the slab as described, it is my purpose to provide additional like reinforcing fins 2'2, preferably located at the opposite end of the bearing sleeve I5, which function as a means. for anchoring the bearing into the slab and also serve as additional means for either picking up or distributing the load within the body of the slab. The radial fins or bearing rings I8, 2| and 22 are shown and described placed at the extreme ends of the bearing sleeve I5, but I wish it understood that these fins may be located at any point on the bearing I5,` and may be either increased or decreased in number without-departing from the spirit of my invention.

In the assembly of the dowel bar bearing and support, the dowel Il is first passed through the joint with equal lengths protruding on each side thereof, the bearing sleeves I5 are next placed over the protruding ends of the dowel as shown, and then temporarily held in place by means of a bolt 25 which is passed through the joint and the aligned bifurcated projections 23 which protrude from the ring I8. The dowel structure just defined is assembled at intervals throughout the length of the mechanical joint, and at the desired spacing to accommodate the estimated loads the pavement is to carry. 'I'he entire structure, including the dowel assembly and the joint, is then placed upon the subgrade, the member 20 resting directly upon the subgrade and being staked in place with a conventional stake pin 24,'and due to this particular assembly, the dowels are maintained in proper alignment, the joint is held in place and the slabs are then poured, cured, and the highway opened to trafllc and the resultant application of moving wheel loads. n

In operation and as the moving wheel load approaches the joint traveling from the initiall; loaded slab towards the next adjacent slab, the load is absorbed by the dowel bar bearing and particularly the radial arm I9 and fins I8 and 22, and then transmitted to the sleeve I5 and dowel I4 and thence across the joint to a like unit on the opposite side in the next adjacent slab, where the concentrated load is dissipated through the sleeve and the radial arms and ns and distributed into the slab structure. As the load crosses the joint and onto the next adjacent slab, the reverse of the above action starts at a maximum and diminishes as the load passes on. The short dowel remains at all times at or near the neutral axis of the slabs, whereas the radial flanges or fins remain within the tension and compression areas intersecting the shear planes and reinforcing the edge of the slab. This ac- -tion of the dowel structure aorbs and se distributes the load, that if failure occurs, it will take place outside of the field embraced by the dowel bar structure, thus effectively tiansmit ting the full strength of one slab to the other without interruption: in fact, the employment of this structure insures the highway against joint failures, as the slab here, is stronger at the joint than at any other point. The fins I8 and 2| increase the bearing value of the sleeve I5 in the concrete and assist in the distribution of load to such an extent as to prevent channeling of the concrete structure.

The foregoing discussion and illustrations have applied in general to poured concrete-cast in situ; but pre-cast concrete, art marble. imitation stone, glass, terra cotta, and many similar gaining favor in the building indus- Many times these preferred products would be used in places where they are not now used if it were possible to effectively transmit a load from one to the next adjoining section. My invention is equally applicable to such or similar elds of work.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A load transfer device for bridging a gap between the adjacent end faces of two substantially horizontally aligned concrete slabs comprising a relatively rigid bearing member and an associated bridging member, said bearing member consisting of a unitary article having its component parts adapted to be imbedded in one of the two slabs and comprising a sleeve portion opening at the end face of the slab in which that member is imbedded and having the axis of its bore horizontal and substantially at right angles to said slab end and approximately within the neutral plane of the slab, an integral anchor portion extending outwardly from the outer Wall of the sleeve portion of said bearing member and adapted to enter into the body of the slab within products are try of today.

which said bearing member is imbedded, and an integral stool portion extending downwardly from the outer wall of the sleeve portion of said bearing member formed to provide a support therefore prior to and during the pouring of said slabs, said bridging members seating within and slidably engaging the bore of the sleeve portion of said bearing member and projecting beyond the end face thereof and to bridge the gap intervening between the end face of the slab in which it is supported and the opposite or opposed slab.

v2. A load transfer device as per claim 1 in which the integral stool portion which is formed to provide a support for the bearing member, ex-

tends downwardly therefrom in substantially the same vertical plane `within which lies the bridging member, Vand wherein a portion of said stool is provided with lateral extensions to provide a foot portion adapted 'to rest upon .the subgrade supporting said slabs.

3. A load transfer device as per claim 1 which includes a second bearing member similar` to said first-named bearing member,

tially enclosing the opposite end portion of the bridging member.

4. A load transfer device as per claimA 1 which includes a second bearing member similar to said v first named bearing member engaging and partially enclosing the opposite end portion of the said bridging member, locking member engaged with said bearing members to prevent the premature separation of the assembled device..

5. A load transfer device as per claim 1 wherein the enclosed portion of the bridging member is less in -len/gth than that of the length of the bore of the related sleeve portion of the bearing member to thereby establish the air space at one end of the bridging member.

engaging and pari and further including a -6. A load transfer 'device for bridging a gapbetween the adjacent end faces of two substantially horizontally aligned concrete slabs comprising two counterpartand relatively reversed rigid bearing members and an associated bridging member, each bearing member consisting of a single unitary article having its component parts adapted to be imbedded in its respective slab and comprising a sleeve portion opening at the end face oiEl its related slab in which that member is imbedded and having the axisof its bore horizontal and substantially at right angles to said slab end and approximately within the neutral plane of the slab, an integral anchor portion extending outwardly from the outer wall of the sleeve portion and adapted to enter into the body of its related slab, and an integral stool portion extending downwardly from the outer wall of the sleeve portion and formed to provide a support therefor prior to and during the pouliIlgof said slabs, portions of said bridging member seating within and have bearing in each of said bearing members. 

